Dama gazelle

Dama gazelle
Addra gazelle (N. d. ruficollis) at Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Maryland
Mhorr gazelle (N. d. mhorr) at Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Kentucky
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Antilopinae
Tribe: Antilopini
Genus: Nanger
Species:
N. dama
Binomial name
Nanger dama
(Pallas, 1766)
Subspecies[3]

also see text

Geographic range
Synonyms
  • Gazella dama

The dama gazelle (Nanger dama), also known as the addra gazelle or mhorr gazelle, is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa, in the Sahara desert and the Sahel. A critically endangered species, it has disappeared from most of its former range due to overhunting and habitat loss, and natural populations only remain in Chad, Mali, and Niger. Its habitat includes grassland, shrubland, semi-deserts, open savanna and mountain plateaus.[1] Its diet includes shrubs, herbs, grasses, leaves (especially Acacia leaves), shoots, and fruit.[4]

In Niger, the dama gazelle has become a national symbol. Under the Hausa name meyna or ménas,[5] the dama gazelle appears on the badge of the Niger national football team, who are popularly called the Ménas.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2016). "Nanger dama". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T8968A50186128. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T8968A50186128.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ Nanger dama, MSW3
  4. ^ "Nanger dama (Dama gazelle)". Animal Diversity Web.
  5. ^ Dama Gazelle Nanger dama, Sahara Conservation Fund, 2007–2011
  6. ^ Orange 2012 Afcon qualifiers: 130 Million FCFA for the Menas, StarAfrica Sports, 2011-05-22, archived from the original on 2011-11-09
  7. ^ Menas to test Pharaohs form, Confederation of African Football, October 9, 2010, archived from the original on 2010-10-13